Tag: Cars

Insane Build

Drive Time

Okay, so you have an old Alfa Romeo 105 GTV rust-bucket body (is there any other kind?), and you decide to rebuild it, only instead of the original four-cylinder two-liter engine, you say, “What the hell, I’ll just drop a Ferrari 360 V8 into it and see how things shake out.”

Here’s the result.  Take the 15 minutes out of your day, and feel better about the human race, that it can still throw out men like this.

And he’s Strylian, which makes it all the more memorable.  Best quote:  “I had to make everything!”

Including handmaking the leather seats.  (!!!!)

Alfarrari?  Why not?

A Tale Of Two Ferraris

Drive Time

Okay, two tales, if we’re going to be pedantic. First, Harry takes us for a drive in a borrowed 288 GTO, and if you aren’t entranced (like he is) by that one, then by all means enjoy this little drive in a 365 P Berlinetta Speciale (as Former Drummer Knob puts it, a Dino with three seats and a 12-cylinder engine).

As I told him, after watching the second video:  “I’m not even a Ferrari fan, but that 365 is Left Nut Material.”

His response to why three seats:  “Room for you and two chicks.”

My response to that:  “It’s a Ferrari;  more like one chick and Antonio The Mechanic.”

Or Antonella La Meccanica…

Midnight conversations with old friends… what would we do without them?

Italians: Never Trust ‘Em

Drive Time

I think it was Richard Hammond who, on the old Top Gear show, pointed out that Ferrari’s technical statistics were often flat-out lies:  “How many horsepower does our new model have?  A million!”

It’s not just their statistics, though.  Try this one on for size:

Legendary Italian car maker Ferrari has no intention of phasing out combustion engines and going fully electric or hybrid anytime soon, promising Sunday to keep making the eight and 12-cylinder engines it has made its trademark at least until the end of the 2030s. (May 2023)

And then there’s this one:

An iconic supercar brand is set to launch its first ever EV, with a new factory already in the works.  The luxury car giant is planning to open a new facility in Italy to produce its new all-electric models.

Who could this be, this “luxury car giant”?

Ferrari boss Benedetto Vigna confirmed that the company was on the right track in developing a new electric car.  (November 2023)

I know, I know:  this isn’t exactly a lie:  Ferrari never said that they’d make only internal combustion engine (ICE) cars… but they sure as hell skated around the issue.

Just as they do with their technical specs.

And of course, they’ll cheat when it comes to the sound their new Duracell cars will make.

Bastardi.

About Those Duracell Cars

Drive Time

It seems as though at least one car manufacturer is thinking straight:

“It is regular users who are the ones who suffer” when government regulations try to shoehorn buyers and automakers into EVs, according to Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda. Speaking publicly as the head of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Toyoda said, “People are finally seeing reality” as sales growth sputters. “I have continued to say what I see as reality… if regulations are created based on ideals,” instead of real-world conditions, “it is regular users who are the ones who suffer.”

All true, of course.

As an aside, I would love to see the sales figures for EVs that excludes those in California, because I’ll bet that state skews the whole thing. Why do I say that?

Anecdotally, the Son&Heir just got back from a business trip to SoCal, told me that regular gas there is currently costing $7 per gallon (!!) and that just about every Uber or Lyft driver now uses an EV.

No Takers?

Drive Time

Yeah, color me surprised.  I mean, I love me my Dinos, as any fule kno — and this one purports to have only 37,000 or so miles on the clock — but sheesh, nearly half a million?

Stupid money.